Welcome to the HI-energy blog
HI-energy is an industry brand for all those involved in the energy sector here in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Here, the Energy team at Highlands and Islands Enterprise and other key figures from the energy industry in the Highlands and Islands will share their views and experiences. We look forward to hearing your comments. Please do get in touch with any suggestions for topics you would like to see covered or with posts you would like to contribute to this blog.

Exciting times for renewables sector

March 28th, 2012 by Elain Cameron

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks in the renewables sector in Scotland with some big announcements making the headlines, with the promise of lots more to come for this industry.

Firstly we saw the First Minister launch the new Nigg Skills Academy in Ross-shire. This is a brilliant new development for the energy sector in the Highlands and Islands and has been broadly welcomed by the industry as a whole. With funding support from Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and HIE totalling £915,000, the Academy hopes to have 290 Modern Apprentices through its doors in the first year of operation. These apprentices are going to be very valuable to the industry in the coming years, with over 3,000 people expected to have completed training by 2015.

The Skills Academy has seen over 800 applications already, for an initial intake of 23 apprentices. This is testament to how appealing the sector is to people looking for new and exciting opportunities, and with the industry growing so rapidly, it’s great to see this level of appetite.

Since Global Energy Group took over the Nigg Yard in 2011, they have identified a demand for up to 2,000 people over the next few years to help them to deliver contracts in the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors. The yard has already taken on a new lease of life, with the dry dock back in action and home for the next 3 months to Transocean’s Galaxy 1 rig. The major refit will employ more than 250 people and is a big boost to the area, as had it not been for the dry dock, the work would have ended up elsewhere.
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Posted in Events, Offshore wind, Renewables, Skills | No Comments »

Nigg Energy Park announcement marks new era for energy industry

avatar October 28th, 2011 by Calum Davidson

I visited the Nigg Fabrication Yard in Easter Ross this week, for the first time since the First Minister joined Roy MacGregor to announce that his Global Energy Group had closed the deal with KBR and the Wakleyn Trust and now were the new proud owners of the Yard, or the Nigg Energy Park as we shall now think of it. The old tired, peeling KBR and Hifab signs were gone, replaced by smart new Global Energy Nigg billboards, with a simple but clever logo that highlights the word Nigg, with a neat design that simultaneously manages to convey waves, Ben Wyvis and the Sutors of Cromarty that frame the entrance to the Firth. Well, to me anyway.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of this deal, for Scotland, the Highlands and Islands, and the wider Scottish energy supply chain. We now have one of Scotland’s fastest growing energy companies owning arguably Scotland’s best deep water energy fabrication yard, and determined to develop it as a multi-user energy park. So from HIE’s viewpoint we have the best of both worlds, an ambitious Highland company now owning a key strategic asset, yet able to offer potential renewable energy inward investors ideal facilities to fabricate, assemble and deploy the new generation of offshore wind, wave and tidal devices that will provide a major proportion of Scotland’s electricity needs over the next 5-10 years.

The yard still looks tired of course, as it’s had no investment or significant maintenance for ten years, and many of the buildings date from the early 70s - and who foresaw then that the North Sea oil industry would still be going strong in 2011, and still expected to be a major oil producer for another 40 years? However Global has ambitious plans to develop the site, open the huge dry-dock, and provide the sort of facilities that will allow a real multi-user site to grow. That’s why HIE is delighted to support their future plans with assistance of £1.8m, support that allows the company to accelerate their re-development schedules, allowing Nigg – and the Highlands and Islands – to maximise the opportunities that offshore renewables offer the North of Scotland.

Posted in Oil and Gas, Renewables | No Comments »

Energy North Awards highlight the region’s expertise

October 24th, 2011 by Audrey MacIver

It was a real pleasure to be hosting Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s table at the inaugural Energy North awards on Thursday 29th September, not least due to the very pleasant company of our guests – you know who you are! The event really showcased the talent, expertise and leading business capabilities of our region and further served to illustrate the exciting energy opportunities this region offers our people, businesses and economy. Our congratulations go to all the deserving award winners and indeed to all those shortlisted. For the details of the winners visit the Energy North website.

I was particularly struck by the fact that these awards celebrated success across the energy industry, with many of the categories equally relevant to oil and gas and to the renewables sector e.g “Best Subsea Service”, “Best Service Supply”, “Best Export”, “Best Pioneer” and finally the HIE-sponsored Ambassador Award. It is often cited that there is competition between these sectors, but these awards clearly demonstrated that there is already substantial evidence of the two sectors complementing each other and combining to make even more competitive businesses in the Highlands and Islands. We must ensure that such synergy continues to grow as we capitalise upon the projected continued growth in oil and gas activity, and on Scotland’s ambitious renewable energy targets – in both of which this area has considerable competitive and comparative advantage.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate the Energy North team for pulling these successful awards together, and providing an excellent platform for the promotion of the region’s rich energy assets. Good luck to them and the entrants of the 2012 Energy North Awards.

Posted in Awards, Events, Oil and Gas, Renewables | No Comments »

The 3rd Marine Energy Conference

avatar September 28th, 2011 by Calum Davidson

The Scottish Renewables 3rd Marine Energy conference last week in Inverness - sponsored by Highlands and Islands - was one of the most vibrant and exiciting wave and tidal events I’ve been at in the past few years. I was delighted to be asked to give an opening keynote. Here it is in full. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Events, Marine: wave and tidal energy, Renewables | No Comments »

Thirty five years on……….

avatar September 14th, 2011 by Calum Davidson

When I mention to friends, family and neighbors that the Highlands and Islands is leading the world in the development of a whole new energy industry, they tend to look at best quizzical, and at worst disbelieving. I like to remind them that in 1976 Dores bay in Loch Ness was the test bed for Scotland’s first wave device, Stephen Salter’s Nodding Duck. The fate of that technology was contentious, shelved some say as a result of closed door meetings in Whitehall and secret memos from rival technologies. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Events, Marine: wave and tidal energy, Renewables | No Comments »

Oil, Gas and Renewables - a glimpse of the future.

avatar August 11th, 2011 by Calum Davidson

July and early August tend to be slower months in offices across Scotland, but out on the seas, harbours and fabrication shops of the Highlands and Islands things are anything but quiet. Since coming back from my summer holidays, a combination of work and pleasure trips around the North of Scotland have highlighted how the energy industry footprint can be seen right across the region. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Marine: wave and tidal energy, Oil and Gas, Renewables | No Comments »

All-Energy 2011

avatar June 21st, 2011 by Calum Davidson
All Energy 2011

All-Energy 2011

All-Energy 2011. Well now that the dust has settled, business cards filed, follow up emails and phone calls scheduled, it’s interesting to reflect on one of the largest renewable energy events. It was the biggest ever for Highlands and Islands companies, biggest ever for HIE, and from a quick initial review of business impacts, big for renewables business.

The thing that struck me walking through the door on the first morning was ties. Neck ties. Unlike almost all other renewable energy events I’ve ever attended, the overwhelming dress code was dark suit and tie. It was almost like walking into an accountants’ convention. Long gone are the days when All-Energy was the domain of Aberdeenshire farmers in tweed jackets, and earnest young men with long hair and corduroy trousers. Renewable energy is now mainstream, it’s big business, it’s international, and Scotland is at the forefront. Canada, the Basque Country, Austria, all had huge stands, as did almost all the UK’s major energy players. (Continued after the video)

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Posted in Events, Renewables | No Comments »

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